“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” (2 Samuel 22:33 NIV).

Have you noticed that the harder you strive for perfection the more elusive it becomes? Focus on having the perfect vacation, the perfect house, the perfect kids, the perfect spouse… and the more imperfect everything seems!

It seems counter-intuitive, but when I stop focusing on achieving perfection and focus on pleasing God, life seems more… well, perfect.

My plans for life don’t include all the backroads and pitstops. I prefer taking the Interstate and getting to the destination quickly. I don’t even like taking bathroom breaks (Although, since I’ve entered my 5th decade this is changing somewhat).

But God likes going off-road. He leads us into desert places and surprises us with an oasis. He lets us break down in the wilderness and sends an old farmer in a pickup to give us a ride into town. God’s ways are different than ours. His ways of perfecting us are not what we expect. They don’t seem so perfect at the time. But later, after you’ve been on His route for while, you get it.

I’ve tried both ways now. I’ve tried living my way, focused on a destination called perfection and feeling the disappointment of constantly falling short. Now, I’m learning to live life trusting God. I believe that His ways are “higher” (Isaiah 55:9) and better than my ways.

God’s way is perfect. When I focus on following Him, He makes my way perfect too.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17 NIV).

The new Taco Bell in Wilson is my favorite lunch time destination. I prefer to use the drive-thru. The service is quick and the price is cheap. I can pick up my three chicken tacos and be back at the office within minutes.

But when it first opened I had trouble with its new location. Everytime I would sit in my car waiting, I would have to look at the former Regal Theatre sitting vacant behind it, its “For Sale” sign prominently aimed my way.

I would sit there talking to myself, “Don’t even think about it. That property is way to expensive. You’ve already looked at it. They want too much. Besides, if God wanted us to have it. He would miraculously make it possible. So, just get your tacos and go back to work.”

This went on for months. I almost had to stop going to Taco Bell!

Then, the miraculous happened! We were able to purchase the $1.8 million dollar property for $285,000. Our members sacrificially gave over $75,000 in 40 days to close on the property. Now, we’re planning the remodel and working on cleanup. All of this happened in around 90 days. After nearly 19 years and then God makes all of this happen in 90 days!

I’m learning that no matter how hard we work and plan that real success is impossible without God’s favor. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that we should just sit around waiting for things to fall into our laps. We need to exercise the faith God has given us, planning and working as God directs. But more human effort and planning, working harder and harder, trying to control every detail, begins to have diminishing results. We wear out our minds and bodies and have less and less to show for it.

I mean, who could’ve planned to have the Taco Bell drive-thru built strategically, so that every Wilsonian who sits there waiting has to look at our 40 foot banner hanging on our new property proclaiming our future home? That’s a detail God planned. I didn’t even see that one coming. When we have God’s favor, He establishes the work of our hands.

I love sitting in the Taco Bell drive-thru now, looking at our new property, with its giant banner hanging across the front. I sit there thinking about how many hundreds will visit our church because they sat in their cars waiting for a taco and wondering about a church that meets in an old theatre.

“Can I take your order?” A voice calls over the outdoor kiosk, interrupting my daydreaming.

“Ah, yeah, let me have three chicken tacos.” I reply, with a smile on my face.

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him” (Lamentations 3:22-24 KJV).

Probably no preacher or prophet has been given such a heart-rending job as the prophet Jeremiah, who after warning his people to repent had to watch his beloved city Jerusalem destroyed and his unrepentant people carried away in chains. The artist Michelangelo attempted to capture Jeremiah’s suffering in his rendering on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (photo left).

In the midst of Jeremiah’s weeping and grief he penned the five acrostic poems that became the five chapters of the book of Lamentations. It has been said that there is no other writing in human history like Lamentations that so expresses the depth of human sorrow and suffering. Dr. J. Vernon McGee has said of Lamentations:

“It is a paean of pain, a poem of pity, a proverb of pathos. It is a hymn of heartbreak, a psalm of sadness, a symphony of sorrow, and a story of sifting. Lamentations is the wailing wall of the Bible” (Thru the Bible, V.III).

The Bible is not afraid to meet us in our deepest place of sorrow. It does not avoid the issue of suffering and sadness. Instead of giving us shallow platitudes and cliches, It points us to the only One who is faithful in times of deep sorrow. Lamentations turns our weeping into singing as we hear Jeremiah’s soul cry out to God, saying “Great is Thy faithfulness!”

After everything was stripped away, Jeremiah realized that God was enough. He recognized that his “portion” was the Lord Himself and that the Lord was more than enough. Sometimes we have to go through a season of suffering to really get this… God Himself is our reward!

Our church celebrated its 18th anniversary this past January. We’ve been through nothing like Jeremiah, but we’ve had many ups and downs. One of the areas that we’ve struggled is with believing that God would provide a home for our church. We have been meeting in rented facilities for nearly 19 years. During that time we have tried many times to obtain a property of our own. Every time we came up short. The finances or some other detail would not work out.

Finally, after a particularly difficult failure to own and remodel a shopping center for our church, we hit a low point… I hit a low point. I thought about quitting. I suffered headaches and severe back pain. I wondered whether I was even called to pastor. Perhaps WCC should find a better leader, I thought.

Then, we began to heal. We focused on God’s faithfulness. We decided to celebrate the fact that we were the “church without walls,” the “portable church,” the church that’s the “people, not the steeple!” We started to see God Himself as our “portion.” We began to focus on where God was moving and not worry about the past.

That’s when it happened. When we stopped looking for anything beyond what God would provide, an opportunity to purchase a property that had been offered for $1.8 million dollars was opened to us for only $285,000. But there was a problem. If we wanted the property, time was of the essence. The seller would only give us 30 days to close. We didn’t even have a building fund. Where would we get the 20% down that the lender required? We would need to raise $65,000.00 in cash in a matter of weeks!

Praise God! This past Sunday we exceeded our goal! God has faithfully provided the $65,000 and the money is still coming in. This whole thing has been a miracle. It’s like God held the building for us for five years, so that the property would come down in price, then made the time to buy it so short, as to be impossible without Him.

I believe that God is orchestrating the story of our church so that He gets the most glory. He has taught us to sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” while we were struggling, in order that we could really sing it loud when He brought us into this new season of blessing.

Next Thursday, we are scheduled to close on the property that our church will remodel for our new home. God has faithfully provided all that we need. But let us not forget what we have learned in the valley. God is more than enough. He is our portion and our reward. Let us never stop singing of His great faithfulness!

“Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37 NIV).

I love singing the new contemporary worship songs at our church, but whenever I get alone with God those aren’t the songs that fill my mind. In my times of private devotion it’s those old hymns that begin to ring in my head.

On a recent study retreat I was having trouble hearing from God. I felt a profound sense of worthlessness come over me. As I considered the calling on my life, I suggested to God that he might look for someone else, someone with more ability to do my job.

As I wallowed in self pity and doubt, I began to hum a tune, “Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me…” I sensed God’s presence. He spoke to me through those old lyrics. My calling doesn’t depend on my ability. God will supply the ability if I will just come as I am.

The lyrics to “Just As I Am” were written by an invalid named Charlotte Eliott in 1835. After a dark night wrestling with feelings of uselessness, she began to question even the reality of her spiritual life. She awoke the next morning and taking pen and paper in hand, she poured out her heart. She wrote words aimed at conquering the spiritual warfare in her soul. She reminded herself that God had called her to come just as she was.

One hundred years later, in 1934, a young man named Billy went forward at a revival led by the evangelist Mordecai Ham. The altar call song was “Just As I Am.” The Rev. Graham was so marked by this song that it became the standard decision song for all his crusades. He even named his autobiography after it.

It’s amazing how a young crippled girl’s obedience continues to affect us today. Living to 82 years of age, she never let her disability keep her from following God. She wrote over 150 hymns.

Singing the lyrics to “Just As I Am” and letting them encourage our souls, we are reminded that God has never been interested in our ability.

What He asks for is our availability.

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken… Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:8-11 NIV).

I never cared much for fishing. Too much sitting and waiting. But my uncle Basil liked to fish and I loved being with him. So, we often went fishing.

My father died when I was eight, so as a boy I was always looking for a father figure to fill that vacuum. My mother’s younger brother was one of those men. He would show up at my house driving his Olds 442 and invite me to go for a ride.

“Let’s go fishing!” My uncle Basil would say as we got in his car.

“Sure!” I’d exclaim. I didn’t care what we did as long as we were together.

As we pulled away, he’d say, “Hey, grab second for me.” while pointing at his chrome, four-in-the-floor, Hurst shifter.

I’d grab the shifter with both hands and pull back, watching his clutch foot for the next gear changes. Uncle Basil always needed my help for gear changes. I never knew how he managed without me.

If I got a little loose with one of the changes, he’d smile and say, “If you can’t find ’em, grind ’em.”

“Now, look in the the glove box and pull out that new Doc Watson 8-track and pop it in. You’re going to love this guy. He can really pick.” He’d say when we got the car up to cruising speed. Uncle Basil always had music he wanted me to listen to with him. He loved the blues. Even though I was more of a rock and roll guy, I learned to love the blues too.

Sometimes we’d take our guitars when we went fishing. While sitting on an old boat dock at the lake with our lines in the water, we’d talk and pick. He taught me my first song on the guitar, “The Wildwood Flower.”

I loved my uncle Basil and he loved hunting, fishing, telling stories, listening to music, playing guitar and driving Oldsmobiles. Being with him I learned to love those things too.

I doubt that Simon Peter cared much for the sinners that Jesus loved. He was a fisherman. He loved the sea and catching fish. It was his life. Then Jesus got in his boat. Peter recognized his own sin and Jesus loved him anyway. He invited Peter to a new kind of fishing, fishing for men. I’m sure Peter had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he knew one thing, he wanted to be with Jesus. So, he left everything and followed him. Peter learned to love what Jesus loved.

I must confess that I find the “lost” hard to love. They are sinners after all. They’re not very lovable, but Jesus loves them. I don’t know why, but when I was a sinner, He loved me too.

It’s funny how when you love being with someone, when you start loving them, you start loving what they love.

Jesus loves sinners and now He is making me love them too…

…especially if they love fishing, Doc Watson, and an Olds 442.

“He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat” (Luke 5:3 NIV).

I starting loving boats and motorcycles at a very early age. To me, they represented more than transportation. They were shortcuts to adventure. And I loved adventure! I guess I’ve always been an adrenaline junky.

My uncles and cousins all started getting bikes when I was around 10 years old. I really wanted one of my own. When I was 11, my Aunt Theda bought a used Honda 70 and gave it to me and my brother Barry. Man, we loved that bike! We finally had a bike that belonged to us. You wouldn’t believe the stories I could tell (and the scars I could show) that happened to us on that little Honda.

My love of motocycles led to a friendship with a school mate named Bruce. I started hanging out with him when I was around 14 years old. By that time I had a Honda 125. Bruce had a beast of a bike, a Yamaha 250 motocross. His bike scared me and I liked it! He lived at South Holston Lake and had several boats too. When we weren’t riding bikes, we were riding boats. Sometimes we’d take two boats out at a time. We’d use his dad’s inboard to make a big wake and take turns on his little fiberglass two-seater jumping over the wake. Now, I dreamed of owning a boat too.

Fast forward a decade or so and I’m married, we’ve got three kids, a dog, a house in Roanoke (that I needed to sell), a house in Wilson, a waterfront house at Smith Mountain Lake, and a boat. As a child I had dreamed of owning these things and now I did. But what surprised me is that I really wasn’t happy. I felt like these things owned me, instead of me owning them (Can you say “three mortgages!”?).

Owning these things wasn’t turning out to be the adventure I’d dreamed. I was working 70 hours a week for a large corporation and barely had time to do more than pay the bills. Plus, I knew that God had called me to the ministry and I wasn’t doing it. That was one adventure that was just too scary even for me. Why? Because it looked like that I’d have to let go of my belongings in order to do it.

Finally, my misery became greater than my fear. I had to do something. It was time to begin another kind of adventure, one that wasn’t about having more belongings, but touching more human beings. God was calling me to the most thrilling ride of my life!

So, I quit my corporate job. I cashed out my 401K. Sold my corporate stocks and options. I even sold my lake house (I held on to it as long as I could, but it had to go too). I used the money to support my family while attending seminary for three years.

But I held on to the boat. I kept it in the garage. We took it out on the Tar River Reservoir from time to time. We enjoyed it.

By then, God had called us to plant Wilson Community Church and the church needed a van to haul equipment. We had attracted all these young families and money was tight. One day, as I stood looking at my Bayliner boat sitting in the garage, I could see that the new adventure required a van more than a boat. So, we sold the boat and bought a van for the church. That 1982 Chevy Beauville wasn’t much to look at, but we lovingly named her “Bertha” and used her to carry sound equipment and nursery equipment for years.

This year, God has us setting out on another adventure. He has miraculously opened the door for our church to “own” a property valued at more than 2.2 million dollars for the amazing amount of $285,000.00. This shouldn’t be possible! The owners turned down several offers for much more in the past couple of years. But for some crazy (God) reason, they’ve accepted our offer!

Recently, I felt drawn out to my garage again… looking. This time I see my Honda VT1100 Shadow sitting there. I haven’t had it long. But I know what God is thinking.

“Will let me use it? Will you trust Me again with your belongings?” I sense Him ask.

My answer? You can find it on craigslist.com. Just look for a big, black, chromed out Honda cruiser for sale in Wilson, NC. You’ll find a photo of my bike sitting in front of the garage. I’m learning to let go of stuff more quickly. I don’t want to let my belongings cause me to miss the real adventure.

So, I’m giving it back to God. He needs it for a downpayment on His building. He’s calling me to push out and go deep. I don’t need to own a boat or a motorcycle to feel the splash on my face and the wind in my hair. God has called me to a greater adventure and I’m having the ride of my life!

What belongs to you? If you really listen, you’ll hear Jesus ask to use it. It’s amazing what he can do with a boat, or some fishes, or bread, or a donkey, or … a motorcycle.